Page 172 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

If the moment hadn’t been so tense, I would have laughed at the look on his face. Eyes widening, jaw falling open, gaping at us in shock.

“Youknowabout that?”

“We do,” I said. “I know why your boss hired his little tech lady. You guys were pretty bad at erasing important stuff. We saw it in action. Now what the fuck is it?”

Recovering, he said, “Well, that’s a long story.”

“Summarize it,” Trent snapped.

He winced. “Okay, okay. Kyle gets it from this creepy-ass scientist guy. Some doctor who’s got all these fucked-up ideas about shifter superiority. The doc’s a shifter, too, obviously, and he thinks we’re the top of the food chain and are, like,destinedto be the inheritors of the earth or some shit, I don’t know.”

“A scientist?” Langston probed. “What kind?”

“No clue,” Scotty said, and I could sense his honesty in his facial expression and tone. “All I know is that he hooked up withKyle a few years ago, got him to invest in his research. It’s part of why Kyle’s been trying to take over shifter towns. He gets money and power, sure, but the secondary benefit is that we can kidnap shifters and let the doc take their blood to further his experiments.”

“He’s taking shifters?” Langston asked.

How was he able to keep the horror out of his voice?

Scotty nodded. “Yeah. Me and some of the other guys tried talking him out of working with the doc, but he wasn’t hearing any of it. I think Kyle wants some sort of weapon he can use. Right now, with the way laws are and how hands-off the human police and military are with shifter stuff, he can move around in the shadows. He’s got it in his head that deep down, all humans want to be shifters. He thinks people will pay big money to get transformed. Thinks anyone and everyone will jump at the chance to be a shifter. He’s used the initial formulas on some of the humans in North Crest, but so far none have become shifters, only animals. He’s not real happy about it.”

“Is it all about money?” Trent asked, frowning in confusion. “Seems like overkill.”

“It’s more than money,” Scotty said. “It’s power. The doc has other things planned for this drug. I overheard them talking a few days ago. Apparently, he thinks he can alter the genetic makeup of people who are already shifters. He says he’s already working on a formula that can alter the cell structure of shifters to transform betas into alphas, and alphas into evenmorepowerful alphas. Kyle wants to be the alpha to end all alphas. He doesn’t want to control a few packs, but every pack everywhere.”

I wouldn’t have been more surprised if someone had just tossed a grenade into the basement with us. Langston and the others had the same shell-shocked expression on their faces.

“That’s impossible,” Langston muttered.

The prisoner scoffed. “You said you saw the video. It’s supposed to be impossible to turn a human into a wolf, yet here we are. It’s coming. If there’s one thing I’ve figured out while working for Kyle, it’s never doubt the doc when he says he can do something.”

“But a single shifter can’t rule every pack,” Trent said. “The logistics alone would be?—”

Scotty scoffed. “Kyle doesn’t give a shit about logistics. He’s drunk on the idea of power.”

The idea of being in charge ofeveryshifter was terrifying. Managing Harbor Mills alone was stressful enough for me. There were shifters in higher levels of power, sure. There was an entire contingent of them in Congress. But they didn’truleus. All they did was represent our interests. They helped shape laws that allowed us to live comfortably alongside humans while still keeping our autonomy. They weren’t kings or queens.

“I knew this dude was a maniac,” Porter said, “but this seals the deal. Even if it was physically possible, there’s no way he could implement it.”

That part was accurate. No single man could be alpha to the myriad of packs across the world. Kyle was even crazier than we’d thought, and that was saying a lot.

“What about my son?” I asked, leaning forward hungrily, desperate for news. All I could think of was this psychotic doctor experimenting on my boy.

“As far as I’ve been told,” Scotty said, shrugging one shoulder, “he hasn’t been hurt. He wants his hostage kept secure and safe. Last I checked, the kid was bored, sitting in a locked room. Three meals a day. I think they gave him a TV to stream movies and shows. It’s a prison, but I’ve seen worse.”

“Where is he?” I barked.

“At Kyle’s place. It’s a big fucking mansion he… uh… procured from a well-to-do shifter who lived between North Crest and Carltonville to the west.”

“Tell us where this place is,” Langston said. “We’ll go in, get Ash out, and we’re done.”

“You aren’t listening,” Scotty urged. “Kyle and the doc think of everything. This mansion was already a fortress, but he added more security when he took it over. The whole basement floor was turned into labs. Kyle keeps his best-trained men there as security. There are cameras, silent alarms, fences. It’s like fucking Fort Knox. You’re not gonna stroll in there and grab your kid.”

“Son of a bitch,” I hissed.

Langston looked equally disappointed, though I wasn’t sure why either of us were surprised. If I’d been in Kyle’s shoes, I’d have done the exact same thing—keeping my treasure locked away safe and sound like a good little pirate.

“There’s no way in,” Langston said. “Is that what you’re saying?”

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